Thursday, November 10, 2005

Pasta with Lentil-Riceballs

Some pasta spirals in tomato sauce are kept warm in the thermos. In the lunchbox are lentil and brown rice "meatballs", green beans, pomegranate seeds (did you know pomegranates have more antioxidants than green tea or red wine?), and a piece of Newman's Own Organic sweet dark chocolate.Verdict: At the last minute I decided to pack an extra little container of tomato sauce for the lentil-riceballs -- they are sooo good with lots of tomato sauce. I packed enough for two since I was planning on being there to have lunch with him, but it turned out the teacher didn't need me today. So of course he couldn't finish it all by himself, but he did eat all the green beans and half the pasta and lentil-riceballs. 4 stars.

19 comments:

I've been reading for a while now, and love your ideas. Really I hope you will publish some kind of cookbook! I was wondering, though, about pomegranate seeds. Do you eat the entire seed, or just kind of eat the flesh and spit out the seed? I don't think I've had one since elementary school, and I seem to remember spitting them out. Thanks so much, and great work.

What a coincidence-- I made black bean and brown rice "meatballs" for the girls I nanny for today! But mine didn't stay together terribly well and certainly wouldn't have traveled well in a lunchbox. Do you use Ener-G or some sort of binder?

Those pomegranate seeds look phenomenal. If only I had someone to do all the hard work for me so I could just kick back and eat 'em... I loooove pomegranate but don't like turning my finger blood-red. Lucky schmoo!:)

I'm not vegan (yet) but a vegan friend turned me on to your blog. I am SO impressed. My poor kids' lunch is incredibly boring. Can we say, pb&j, apple slices and carrots EVERY single day? My question: how long does it take you to shop for such a variety of groceries?

Where would one find "meatball" recipes like this? Is this your own recipe, or is there a particular cook book, website or magazine that you refer to. I'm a cook book and website fiend. I'm trying to branch out into more healthful veg frontiers and wondered if anyone has any suggestions on where I can get some inspiration (other than your FABULOUS blog).

We are lucky enough to have two Pomegranate trees - we had 150 of them this year. The easiest way to peel them is to hold them under water in a bowl, score the skin and break into quarters. It takes a little practice but once you get it down it goes very quickly and the water helps keep the mess down and helps the white part separate from the seeds.

Interesting tidbit - if you do 4 hours of peeling you will get over 17 quarts of seeds for the freezer (yep - they freeze well) and you will get yellow hands from the pith, not red. Oh yeah - your fingertips look like little yellow raisins! But so worth it!

As to how you eat them. I eat the whole seed and love eating bowls at a time. I also have muffin recipes, rice recipes, desserts, etc.

Sorry to hijack the thread - I have just been spreading the joy that is pomegranates to everyone who will sit still and listen. It is the first time I have ever been able to grow anything that someone would actually want to eat. I'm so proud! :-)

Scoutmama, thanks for the pomegranate tips! Wow, that's a lot of pomegranates! If it's okay, I'd love to include your tips in the cookbook -- I score and pull the fruit apart, but I didn't know about immersing them in water to help get the white pith off.

Hi, sonya -- I used a bit of whole wheat flour as a binder. And they held their shape perfectly, so I was pleased. I wouldn't pack them in the tomato sauce, though; I think then they would get soft and crumble.

Hi, amanda -- Hmm, I've never really thought about how long it takes to do the grocery shopping. These are foods we eat normally anyway, so it doesn't take any longer than it ever did. I usually visit one grocery store and one health food store once a week, plus the farmers' market in season (and some occasional gourmet import store shopping, but that doesn't count because it's fun!). I never go shopping without a list.

Hi, anonymous -- The lentil-riceball recipe is my own, and I'll be putting it in my cookbook, so you can add it to your collection! A friend is double-testing the recipe for me (thanks, Elizabeth!).

Hi, anonymous -- Re. menus, I write up a week's worth of menu ideas, the shopping list for what I think I'll need, and head out. Of course, if an especially beautiful vegetable catches my eye I sometimes change my mind. But having a list really helps speed things along.

I'm not vegan, either, but I SO enjoy looking at your blog. My boys always want to see what shmoo had for lunch, too!! You are so creative.

I have one question. I'm trying to figure out this lentil rice ball recipe because I think my baby (10 mos.) would love them as a finger food. Is it just cooked lentils and rice with a little whole wheat flour? Do you cook them after you add the flour?

Hi, anonymous! Why don't you send me an email (jmccann@cambria.com) and I'll give you the recipe to test for me. I think they would make a nice finger food, especially with some tomato sauce for dipping. Yum!!